Curriculum

One of the STEM Program’s goals is to engage participants in stimulating coursework that will develop their curiosity and understanding about math and science. The five-week summer curriculum is intensive, challenging students to develop analytical and critical thinking skills. Students are divided by grade level into four levels of learning: entering 6th graders comprise Level 1, entering 7th graders comprise Level II, entering 8th graders comprise Level III, and entering 9th graders comprise Level IV.

The STEM Program Summer Institute’s curriculum is comprised of four essential building blocks (Figure 1). In Level I, students concentrate on Algebraic Topology and Biology. In Level II, participants take Physics and Chemistry to better prepare them for potential academic careers in engineering and science.

Figure 1: STEM Program Intellectual Development Waterfall Model1

waterfall model chart

In Level III, students take Vector Mechanics and Probability and Statistics to help them develop mathematical and engineering intuition. In Level IV, participants focus on mathematical and scientific analysis and synthesis; they take Precalculus and, for the first time in 2007, they take Robotics. The combination of these four areas of will provide our students with a fundamental basis for outstanding success in science and engineering.

1 Based on the model developed by the Center for the Advancement of Hispanics in Science and Engineering Education (CAHSEE) Foundation. For more information, visit www.cahsee.org.